I’m pleased to announce that today is
release day for my latest romance novel, A
Bride for Quentin. Since I am on the road this week, for today’s post, I
will share with you some of my author’s notes for this book.
I realize many romance readers do not
like to spend a lot of time reading scenes from history. They would rather get
straight to the huggy-kissy stuff. However, I
like a little conflict and action in my stories.
As for the Battle of the Rosebud Creek,
I began my research as part of developing backstory for Quentin Thompson, my
hero in this book. Those who have read some of my later Sweethearts of Jubilee
Springs books will recognize him as the telegraph operator who works at the
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad depot in Jubilee Springs.
I always tried to portray Quentin as an intelligent, capable person in his early thirties. So, why would
someone like him end up in a job like telegraph operator which, although a
valuable skill and service, was sort of dead-end? Why should he choose to live
in a remote mining town where men greatly outnumbered women instead of trying
for a job in a larger city like Denver? I chose for him a U.S. Army career, but
needed to find a reason compelling enough for him to end his career and become
a telegraph operator.
The Battle of the Rosebud Creek was part
of the Yellowstone and Little Big Horn campaign—the same one where, in a battle
less than two weeks later, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, several members
of his family, and his entire command perished.
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1868 Fort Laramie Treaty
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What started the whole mess was the
decision of the United States government to change the terms of the 1868 Fort
Laramie Treaty in which the Lakota Sioux won major concessions from the United
States in the form of a large reservation which included the Black Hills in the
Dakota Territory plus  |
Sitting Bull
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a large area of "unceded
territory" in what became Montana and Wyoming. Both areas were for the
exclusive use of the Indians. Except for government officials, whites were
forbidden to trespass. All remained well and good until, in 1874, the discovery
of gold in the Black Hills was confirmed by Lt. Col. Custer and his expedition. At that
point, the U.S. attempted to buy the Black Hills from the Indians.
To accomplish
this, the U.S. ordered all bands of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne to come to the agencies
on their reservations by January 31, 1876 to negotiate the sale. A few bands
did not comply. After the deadline of January 31 passed, the government sent the
Army to force Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other chiefs to bring their
followers onto the reservation. The first military expedition against those
bands of Natives took place in March 1876. Known as the Battle of Powder River,
it ended in failure.
The next expedition
designed to get these tribal people onto their reservations was the Little
Bighorn and Yellowstone campaign. It was a three column plan with one column under Col. John Gibbon, who
led a force coming from the west, and the other under Gen. Alfred Terry, who came
from the east. The third column was Gen. Crook’s forces coming north from Fort
Fetterman.
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Three columns of the Little Bighorn Yellowstone Campaign
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My husband and I visited the Little Big
Horn Battle site, and I spent considerable time (and more money than my husband
was happy about) in the bookstore. There were scads of books about the Little
Big Horn battle itself and about Custer, his family, and some of the men with
him—some who were with Major Reno or Captain Benteen. I do not recall seeing
many books about the Rosebud battle.
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General Crook
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In my more recent online research, I
learned that many contemporaries of both Lt. Col. Custer and General Crook
thought, of the two men, Gen. Crook was the better Indian fighter. For one
thing, he made a point to know the different tribes and enlisted the aid of
those tribes who considered the tribe(s) Gen. Crook was tasked with subduing as
their enemies. However, it is also a widely held opinion that the Battle of the
Rosebud Creek was not an example of Gen. Crook at his best. Many of are the
opinion that, if after the end of this battle, Gen. Crook had continued north,
he might have arrived at the Little Bighorn River in time to have made a
difference and possibly saved Lt. Col. Custer and his men.
However, others point out that there were
reasons Gen. Crook set up a position not far from the Rosebud battlefield--about sixty miles from the Little Bighorn--and
rested his command for several days. He had a large number of wounded, many of
whom were not well enough to be moved right away. He did not have enough wagons
to transport his wounded back to Fort Fetterman from which his command departed
weeks earlier. His supplies and ammunition were too low to continue an extended
campaign.
What grabbed my attention was the
reason there were as many deaths and injuries from the Battle of the Rosebud
Creek. It came down to a decision made by Gen. Crook’s second in command, Lt.
Col. William Royall.
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Lt. Col. William Royall
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William Royall had fought in the
Mexican-American War and was a Civil War veteran. Assigned as an officer of the
5th Cavalry for over thirty years, he was assigned as commander of Fort Dodge in
December 1875. Shortly afterward, he was transferred to the 3rd
Cavalry and received his promotion to lieutenant colonel. He was transferred to
the Department of the Platte .administered out of Sidney, Nebraska. From January to March 1876, he was detailed to
serve on a board established by the War Department to determine the best way to
distribute supplies to the west.
While in the midst of those duties,
Gen. Crook specifically applied for Lt. Col. Royall to command
the cavalry during the upcoming campaign against the Sioux in the summer of
1876. The commander to that point, Colonel
John J. Reynolds, was in the process of court martial regarding actions taken
the previous January. Rather than fight the court martial, Reynolds chose to
resign.
Lt. Col. Royall returned
to the department, and spent April and May purchasing horses for the campaign.
A battalion of the 2nd
Cavalry was added to his command once the expedition was under way, which put
him in command of fourteen companies of cavalry. Royall had command of these
companies during the battle of the Rosebud on June 17, 1876. He took personal
command of several companies during the fight.
Although on the way to join up with two
other columns that were part of the Little Bighorn and Yellowstone campaign,
Gen. Crook and his troops were attacked by a superior force of Northern
Cheyenne and Sioux and some allies. They barely had time to position themselves
on two ridges to the north and west of Rosebud Creek.
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Battles of Rosebud and Little Bighorn
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Rosebud Creek runs from west to east
for a short distance before it bends and flows north to flow into the
Yellowstone River. Not far from the bend of the backward “L” of this creek
there are two roughly parallel ridges running from northwest to southeast.
Between these two ridges ranging between one mile to a half-mile apart is a
valley with Kollmar Creek running through it.
Gen. Crook, his mounted infantry, Crow
and Shoshoni allies, supply wagons and pack mules, trappers, and other
non-combatants positioned themselves on the northern ridge. Lt. Col. Royall
directed his command to take position on the southern ridge. During
this battle that took place on June 17, 1876, he took personal command of
several companies during the fight.
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Believed to be the only photo of Crazy Horse
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Some apologists state Lt. Col. Royall “…made
an independent attack without informing General Crook, which caused some
difficulties in managing the battle.”
Others claim that Gen. Crook, seeing
that Royall’s position was in danger of being overwhelmed by larger fighting
force, ordered Royall to abandon the ridge on which he established his position
and withdraw to “Crook Ridge.”
Royall sent only one company to join
Gen. Crook. He later claimed he was too hotly engaged with the enemy to
withdraw. However, as the battle progressed, Royall’s position grew
increasingly worse. He was forced to withdraw. He tried to get his men across
Kollmar Creek, but enemy fire was too heavy to allow it. He next tried to lead
his command southeast along the ridge line.
A large group of Sioux and Cheyenne
broke off from engaging Gen. Crook’s men and charged down Kollmar Creek until
it joined Rosebud Creek to cut off Lt. Col. Royall’s retreat.
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Chief Plenty Coups-Crow
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What saved the cavalry from receiving
even more casualties than they did was the bold attack by the Crow and Shoshoni
against the Northern Cheyenne and Sioux, driving the latter back.
Although, at one point, they were
surrounded on three sides by enemy, as the cavalry approached Gen. Crook’s
position, the infantry, armed with rifles with a longer range engaged the
enemy, which allowed many cavalrymen to make it to the ridge.
Based on the information I’ve found so
far, I concluded the “independent attack without informing General Crook, which
caused some difficulties in managing the battle” amounted to Lt. Co. Royall
disobeying a direct order from his commanding officer. The result was that his
men suffered a greater number of casualties—both deaths and injuries—than other
units involved in this battle. That is how I wrote it in the scene with my
purely fictional character, First Lieutenant Quentin Thompson.
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Battle of the Rosebud - end of battle
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After the expedition disbanded in
Nebraska in October, Lt. Col. Royall was appointed to the position of acting
assistant inspector general for the Department of the Platte until September
1882.
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| Image on Crazy Horse | Find-a grave
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The campaign to engage the Northern Cheyenne
and the Sioux in order to force them onto their reservations continued until
November with engagements that became known as “The Horsemeat March” and the “Dull
Knife Battle”. The tribes were forced to their reservations, and new terms imposed
to the detriment of the Native people.
In my story, I cite what happened at
the Battle of the Rosebud Creek plus the ongoing treatment of the Native
American tribes as the reason Quentin eventually resigns.
A Bride for Quentin
is now available. To find the book description and purchase link, please CLICK HERE.
